Psalms 107

Psalm 107 opens Book Five of the Psalms with a call for the redeemed to give thanks. It shows four groups in trouble: desert wanderers, prisoners, the sick, and storm-tossed sailors. Each cries out and is rescued. It ends by praising God’s power to humble and to lift up, and by urging the wise to ponder His loving devotion.

Psalms 107:1

The psalm begins with a call to thank God for who He is: good, and faithful in love that does not run out. Everything that follows is an example of that goodness and steady love at work in real troubles.

BSA: loving devotion (“kindness, mercy”): God’s love is not a passing feeling but steady kindness toward those He has bound Himself to.

Hebrew: חֶסֶד (chesed, H2617) — “loyal, covenant love.” This Hebrew word means love that keeps its promises. It is God’s faithful commitment, which is why it can be said to endure forever.

See also: Psalm 136:1; 1 Chronicles 16:34.

Psalms 107:2-3

Those whom God has rescued should speak up and tell their story. The people had been scattered by enemies and exile, and God gathered them from every direction. Their testimony is to be spoken aloud, not kept private.

BSA: redeemed (“bought back, rescued”): The word pictures a close relative paying to win back someone lost or enslaved.

See also: Isaiah 43:5-6.

Psalms 107:4-5

The first group is lost in a barren desert with no road and no town to shelter them. Hunger and thirst drain them until their very life seems to fade. It is a picture of helplessness with nowhere to turn.

BSA: soul (“the essence of a person”): Their whole inner self, not just their body, grew weak and faint.

Psalms 107:6-7

In their trouble they cry out, and God answers. He does not only rescue them; He leads them by a straight, sure way to a place to live. The Lord’s help ends in a home, not just relief.

BSA: trouble (“narrow, hard, or tight spot”): The word pictures being squeezed in a tight place, with no room to move.

Hebrew: צַר (tsar, H6862) — “narrow, tight, distress.” The Hebrew sound of this word suggests a tight squeeze. God’s rescue brings people out into open space.

Psalms 107:8-9

The refrain calls everyone to thank God for His love and His wonders. The reason is simple: He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry. He meets real needs with real goodness.

BSA: wonders (“amazing works, miraculous deeds”): These are acts beyond human ability that show who God is.

See also: Psalm 34:10; Luke 1:53.

Psalms 107:10-11

The second group sit in deep darkness as prisoners. The psalm is plain that their captivity came from their own rebellion. They ignored God’s words and brushed aside His counsel.

BSA: rebelled (“resisted, disobeyed”): They did not stumble by accident; they pushed against God’s word.

Psalms 107:12

God used hard labor to bring down their pride. When they fell, no one was there to lift them. Their own strength and their friends had failed, which left God as their only hope.

BSA: humbled (“brought low, made submissive”): God’s discipline aimed to bend a stubborn will, not to destroy it.

Psalms 107:13-14

Even people who brought trouble on themselves are heard when they cry out. God leads them out of the darkness and snaps their chains. His rescue is a real release from bondage.

BSA: shadow (“deep distress, the grave”): It points to a gloom so deep it feels like the edge of death.

See also: Psalm 23:4; Luke 1:79.

Psalms 107:15-16

Again the refrain calls for thanks. The gates of bronze and bars of iron stand for prisons no one can break. God breaks them, so no bondage is too strong for Him.

See also: Isaiah 45:2; Acts 12:7.

Psalms 107:17-18

The third group are called fools because they chose sinful ways, and sickness followed. They lost all appetite and came to the edge of death. Sin has real and painful consequences. The psalm does not say every illness is caused by sin.

BSA: Fools (“because of their transgression, stupid”): The fool here is someone who ignores God’s way and pays for it.

Psalms 107:19-20

Once more they cry out, and God answers with a word. His word goes out like a messenger, heals them, and pulls them back from the grave. Christians have often seen in this a picture of Christ, the Word who heals.

BSA: word (“divine message, declaration”): God’s spoken command carries the power to do what it says. Pit (“destruction, grave, underworld”): The Pit is the place of the dead, and God snatches them back from it.

See also: Matthew 8:8; John 1:14.

Psalms 107:21-22

Thanks should be more than a feeling. They are to bring thank offerings and tell what God has done, with joy. Gratitude is meant to be shown and shared.

BSA: declare (“recount, tell”): They are to tell the story of what God did, so others hear it.

See also: Hebrews 13:15.

Psalms 107:23-24

The fourth group are merchants who sail the open sea. Their work puts them where they can see God’s power on the deep. Everyday work can become a place to see the Lord’s greatness.

BSA: wonders (“miraculous deeds, marvelous works”): The sea itself displays God’s marvelous power.

Psalms 107:25-26

God speaks, and a storm rises. The ships are thrown up to the sky and down into the deep, and the sailors lose heart. The storm is shown to be under God’s command, not outside it.

BSA: courage (“soul, inner being”): The word means their very self, which seemed to melt away in fear.

See also: Jonah 1:4.

Psalms 107:27

Skilled sailors stagger like drunk men. Everything they know is swallowed up by the storm. When human expertise runs out, they are ready to look to God.

Hebrew: תִּתְבַּלָּע (titballa’, H1104) — “was swallowed up.” The Hebrew says their wisdom was swallowed up, like something gulped down. The sea devoured their skill as well as their ships.

Psalms 107:28-30

The sailors cry out, and God hushes the storm to a whisper. They rejoice in the quiet, and He brings them safe to the port they wanted. Jesus’ calming of the storm on Galilee shows the same power.

BSA: harbor (“haven, safe place”): God does not merely stop the storm; He brings them to the safe place they were heading for.

See also: Mark 4:39-41.

Psalms 107:31-32

The refrain returns with a call for public praise. God’s goodness is to be honored among the whole people and before their leaders. Praise is meant to be shared in the gathered community.

BSA: assembly (“congregation, gathering”): Thanks belongs in the open, among God’s gathered people.

Psalms 107:33-34

The psalm now looks at God’s rule over whole lands. He can dry up rivers and turn fertile ground into salt flats when its people become wicked. His blessings are not to be taken for granted.

See also: Deuteronomy 29:23.

Psalms 107:35-36

He can also reverse it, turning desert into pools and springs. The hungry settle there and found a city. The picture echoes the first group, who had no city, and it shows God as the giver of a new start.

BSA: hungry (“those who are famished, in need”): The same needy people from verse 5 are now given a home.

See also: Isaiah 41:18.

Psalms 107:37-38

The settlers sow fields, plant vineyards, and enjoy a rich harvest. God’s blessing makes them multiply and keeps their herds from shrinking. Honest work, under God’s blessing, bears fruit.

BSA: blesses (“praises and honors”): God’s blessing means He favors and honors them with a good outcome.

Psalms 107:39-40

Blessing can turn to loss when oppression, evil, and sorrow bring people low. Proud rulers who abuse their power are shamed and made to wander in a trackless waste. God does not let arrogance last.

BSA: nobles (“princes, leaders”): Even the powerful stand under God’s judgment.

Psalms 107:41-42

God lifts the needy out of misery and makes their families grow like flocks. The upright see it and are glad, while the wicked have nothing to say. In the end, God’s justice and kindness are plain.

BSA: needy (“poor, oppressed, in need of help”): God specially turns toward those who have no one else.

See also: 1 Samuel 2:8; Job 22:19.

Psalms 107:43

The psalm ends by asking the wise to take these lessons to heart. The point is to consider God’s loving devotion, which runs through every story of rescue. Thoughtful reflection on His works leads to deeper trust.

BSA: consider (“reflect on, ponder”): The wise do not just read about God’s works; they think them through.

See also: Hosea 14:9.